A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is photographically processed through a development step, a bleaching step, a fixing step, a washing step and/or a stabilization step after being exposed; a color paper light-sensitive material is photographically processed through a development step, a bleach-fixing step (bleaching, fixing), a fixing step, a washing step and/or a stabilization step after being exposed; and a black-and-white light-sensitive material is photographically processed through a development step, a fixing step and a washing step after being exposed. A reversal light-sensitive material is subjected to a reversal process in addition to the above steps.
Recently, photographic processing is ordinarily conducted using an automatic developing machine (hereinafter also referred to an automatic processor) equipped with tanks containing the processing solution through which the light-sensitive material is transported.
On such occasions, a replenisher replenishing system is commonly used wherein the processing solution in a processing tank is controlled so that the activity thereof is kept constant. Because of solution replenishing, much overflow-solution is ordinarily discharged.
The replenisher solution is composed of various elements (hereinafter referred to part agent or parts agents) to give excellent photographic properties during the photographic processing. These parts agents, if in contact with each other, react or deteriorate over a long time and the photographic processing capability is reduced. There are many compounds in photographic processing agents which readily react by an oxidation reduction reaction. Therefore, the processing agents are composed of elements separated in one or two or more parts agents as kits and these agents are dissolved in a fixed amount of water when employed.
The kits of the above parts agents are placed in vessels such as bottles and packages and these are placed in cases such as cardboard boxes and these boxes are put on sale as single units.
Recently, in Europe and America, environmental protection and resource saving are strongly demanded. In the photographic field polymer vessels used for the processing agents are a problem. The photographic polymer vessels are inexpensive, well suited for storage and transport, and excellent in chemical resistance, but the empty vessels are buried, discarded or burned as waste. However, the vessels pile up since they do not degrade biologically, and when burned, much carbon dioxide is generated resulting in the earth's temperature elevation. The users also have problems in that the empty polymer vessels accumlate in the narrow operation spaces to make the spaces narrower.
Further, world wide movements for regulation on prohibiting dumping the photo-effluents into oceans have been increased, and development of a new system in which photographic waste solution is markedly reduced and eventually eliminated is demanded.
In mini-labs which have recently proliferated rapidly, errors frequently occur during dissolution or dilution operations of the replenishing solutions due to a lack of man power, and this conventional replenishment system has drawn many frequent complaints.
Accordinly, in the photographic industry a new replenishing system is demanded in which photographic waste solution is markedly reduced, bottles for processing agents are eliminated and dissolving operations are also eliminated.
In response to these demands Japanese Patent O.P.I Publication No. 5-119454/1993 discloses a method of tableting almost all processing components and directly supplying tablets in processing tanks. Japanese Patent O.P.I Publication No. 4-213454/L992 discloses a method of providing specific powdered processing agents individually into automatic processors, and directly supplying them in the processing tanks after weighing the necessary amounts. Further, Japanese Patent O.P.I Publication No. 2-109042/1990 discloses a method of using a granulated processing agent. These references are common in disclosing the use of a solid chemical instead of the conventional liquid processing agent. However, the preceding two Patents disclose directly supplying the solid processing agent in processing tanks, and the last one discloses dissolving the solid processing agent to obtain replenishing solutions.
In order to produce a solid processing agent such as a granulated processing agent, processing agents are pulverized, granulated adding water and then dried to obtain a granulated processing agent. Tablets can be produced by compressing and molding the granulated processing agent or a powdered processing agent. The above references disclose the tablet production in this manner.
When powder or granules are compressed and molded to obtain a tablet, it is well known that lubricants are used in order to prevent molding difficulties due to friction between powder particles or between powder and the tableting machine. As a lubricant, magnesium stearate or talc is well known for use of a tablet of medicine.
However, the above described lubricants have the advantage of excellent lubricity, but another disadvantage is a decrease of the strength of the photographic processing tablet.
When solid processing photographic tablets containing the above lubricant are dissolved and a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is processed with the solution, there occur scratches or stains on the light-sensitive materials, stains on the rollers of an automatic developing machine, and precipitates or floating matter in the processing tank, resulting in clogging problems of the circulating tubing.
A method of using a large amount of a lubricant are generally employed in order to improve lubricity, however, this results in an adverse affect on the photographic properties as well as the foregoing precipitates problems. Therefore, compounds which are used in even a small amount and effective have been demanded.